Chapter 77

Abby

Cassandra came back just before dusk.

I had slept most of the afternoon, and when I woke, Liam had returned with a bag of my own clothes from the packhouse and a sandwich from the kitchens that Daphne had approved after inspecting it like evidence. Kade was standing by the window. He had been standing there, Liam told me under his breath, for most of the last hour.

Neither of them had mentioned Cassandra.

Neither of them had needed to.

When the door opened, Kade turned so fast that I knew he had been waiting for it.

His mother stood in the doorway holding a flat cardboard box against her chest. It was old, the corners soft and split, the lid held down with a piece of faded ribbon. She had changed her blouse. Her hair was neat again. But her eyes w